Centrifugal extraction machines

ABSTRACT

A centrifugal extraction machine is disclosed which incorporates a resiliently mounted assembly within which clothes are contained during washing. The assembly is supported by an outer casing entirely from below by a number of legs each incorporation a spring. There may be two or three such legs which may be connected to the casing or assembly by universal joints at one or other end. In at least one of the legs, the universal joint incorporates a friction damper bush split longitudinally of a supporting strut of the leg, and arranged so as to frictionally engage the leg and be forced thereagainst to cause frictional damping by compression of the spring during operation.

United States Patent Steele [54] CENTRIFUGAL EXTRACTION 1211 Appl. No.:125,487

[52] US. Cl ..68/23.l, 210/364 [51 l int. Cl. ..D06i 23/02, Fl6f 15/00[58] Field of Search ..210/364; 68/23.l, 24

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,509,742 5/1970 Bauer..68/23.l

[4 Nov. 21, 1972 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1,383,101 11 /1964France ..68/23.l

Primary Examiner-William 1. Price AttorneyAlfred G. Gross ABSTRACT Acentrifugal extraction machine is disclosed which incorporates aresiliently mounted assembly within which clothes are contained duringwashing. The assembly is supported by an outer casing entirely frombelow by a number of legs each incorporation a spring. There may be twoor three such legs which may be connected to the casing or assembly byuniversal joints at one or other end. In at least one of the legs, theuniversal joint incorporates a friction damper bush split longitudinallyof a supporting strut of the leg, and arranged so as to frictionallyengage the leg and be forced thereagainst to cause frictional damping bycompression of the spring during operation.

17 Claims, 11 Drawing Figures PATENTEDunvz: 1972 SHEET 1 OF 8 Hal.

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sum 2 0F 8 PATENTED nnv 2 1 I972 SHEET 3 [1F 8 PATENTED W21 3, 703. 091

SHEET 5 OF 8 PATENTED Nov 21 I972 SHEET 7 OF 8 Ha. /O.

PATENTED nuv 2 1 m2 SHEET 8 OF 8 CENTRIFUGAL EXTRACTION MACHINESBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to washing andlorcentrifugal extraction machines. Vibration is a common problem in thedesign of machines of the type which include a resiliently mountedassembly comprising a container for liquid within which is mounted arotary clothes drum for rotation about a horizontal axis. Many effortshave been made either to suspend the assembly from above within an outercasing or frame but in general these constructions have been complicatedin design with consequent expense. There have been certain priorproposals for the mounting of these assemblies from below but in generalthey have been difficult to assemble or to take apart for service and inmany cases they have incorporated expensive damper units.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is accordingly a principal object of thepresent invention to provide a very simple configuration for supportingthe resiliently mounted assembly in a washing machine. It is anotherobject of the invention to provide a construction in which the assemblyis supported by springs having guide struts which are secured at one endor the other to the assembly or the outer frame by novel forms ofconnection which permit unrestrained tilting of the strut.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an assembly with anovel inertia mass system which enables the construction of a machinewith an outer casing lying very much closer to the container for liquidthan has previously been possible.

According to one aspect of the present invention a washing and/orcentrifugal extraction machine includes an assembly comprising acontainer for liquid within which a clothes drum is mounted for rotationabout a substantially horizontal the springs supported by an outer framefrom below by a plurality of springs and including at least one damperunit associated with one of the springs, the damper unit including astrut which extends between lower and upper end connections respectivelyon sections of the frame and the assembly. One end connection is of anon-rigid nature to permit tilting of the strut with respect to thesection at that one end. The second end connection includes an annulardamping member surrounding a portion of the strut and having apart-spherical surface engaging a corresponding part-spherical seatsecured to or located with respect to the section at the second end topermit substantially unrestrained tilting of the strut with respect tothe section at the second end. The associated spring of the dampersurrounds the strut with one end of the spring bearing on an abutmentsurface which is secure against longitudinal movement with respect toeither a portion of the strut adjacent the said one end or the sectionat the said one end, the second end of the spring bearing directly orindirectly on the damping member. The damping member has at least onelongitudinal split which permits the cross section of its bore to bereduced by compression of the spring thereby frictionally to engage thestrut upon downward movement of the assembly.

Preferably the annular damping member comprises an at leastpart-spherical bush having a longitudinal split dividing it unto twoportions along the axis of the strut. If desired the damping member maybe similarly split into more than two portions. 5

The lengths of the spring and strut are preferably such that the dampingmember is disposed on the strut in such a position that the strutremains within a bore of the damping member when the spring is extendedto its unloaded free length.

According to specific embodiments of the invention the assembly may besupported by two or three springs. With what may be called athree-legged construction, two of the springs may each have a damperunit associated therewith and extend between the frame and the assemblybelow and to one side of the axis, in which case the third springextends between an end connection on the frame and an end connection onthe assembly below and to the other side of the axis, the endconnections of the third spring providing no or negligible damping.

With a so-called two-legged construction where only two springs areemployed, one on each side of the axis one spring may have a damper unitassociated therewith and the other spring have no damper unit associatedtherewith. Alternatively each of the springs may have a damper unitassociated therewith.

According to a further aspect of the present invention a washing and/orcentrifugal extraction machine includes an assembly comprising acontainer for liquid within which a clothes drum is mounted for rotationabout a substantially horizontal axis with the assembly supported by anouter frame from below by at least two springs extending betweensections of the assembly and the frame, at least one of the springssurrounding a guide strut secured at one end to one of the sections andat the other end extending through a single universal joint whichpermits unrestrained tilting of the strut and spring with respect to thesection at that end.

According to yet another aspect of the invention a washing and/orcentrifugal extraction machine includes an assembly comprising acontainer for liquid within which a clothes drum is mounted for rotationabout a substantially horizontal axis with the assembly supported frombelow within an outer casing by a plurality of springs, the assemblycarrying an inertia mass system comprising at least one weight securedto the container, the whole of the inertia mass system being disposedbelow the axis of rotation of the drum.

The invention may be carried into practice in a number of ways but threespecific embodiments will now be described by way of example withreference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. I is an elevational view partly in sections of a horizontal axiswashing machine according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view partly in section of the washingmachine of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary sectional end view to an enlarged scale of partsof each side of the washing machine of FIG. 1 to show the detailedconstruction of the spring leg units incorporated therein;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the two halves of a friction damper bushincorporated in two of the spring leg units of the embodiment of FIGS. 1to 3;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the form of mount incorporated at theupper end of a spring leg unit shown on the left-hand side of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 shows, in a diagrammatic manner, part of the washing machine andthe general configuration of a concrete weight as viewed from the front;

FIG. 7 is a side elevation of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a view similar to FIG. 3, but showing an alternativeembodiment;

FIG. 9 illustrates an out-of-balance condition in which one of thespring leg units of the construction of FIG. 8 has separated from theassembly it supports;

FIG. 10 illustrates the manner in which the parts shown in FIG. 9.arearranged to remain located with respect to one another so that theyreturn to a correct position when such extreme out-of-balance conditionhas ceased, and

FIG. I] is a sectional side elevation of a third embodiment in which awashing machine assembly is supported merely by two legs, theconstruction otherwise being similar to that of FIGS. 1 to 7.

Referring first to FIG. 1 this illustrates an outer casing 10 with therear panel thereof removed to show a resiliently mounted assembly 11which includes an outer tub 12 within which is mounted a horizontal axisrotary drum 13 for containing clothes to be washed. The clothes areloaded into and removed from the drum 13 through a front openingnormally closed by a door 14 as shown in FIG. 2. The casing 10 ismounted on wheels 16.

The drum 13 is driven by an electric motor 17 via a belt 19 and pulleys20 and 21. The motor 17 is mounted on the underside of the resilientlymountedassembly II by means of a pair of brackets 22. The drum I3 isfilled through plumbing not shown and is emptied by means of an emptyingpump receiving liquor from the tub 12 through a flexible pipe 27 anddischarging this liquor upwardly through an outlet hose 28 which can beconnected to a drain or sink. The parts so far described areconventional and do not form any part of the present invention.

The assembly I] is supported within the casing 10 substantially entirelyfrom below by means of three socalled spring leg units. One of theseunits 30 comprises a straightforward spring leg having no dampingfacility and as can be seenfrom FIG. 2 this is disposed substantiallycentrally along the fore and aft axis of the assembly II. On theright-hand side of the assembly as viewed in FIG. 1 the assembly issupported by a pair of spring leg units 32 each incorporating a damperand spaced apart in the manner shown in FIG. 2.

The detailed form of the spring damper leg units 32 is shown on anenlarged scale on the right-hand side of FIG. 3. Thus each incorporatesa spring 36 which, at its upper end, bears on a plate 37 forming part ofan upper resilient mounting for a longitudinal guide strut 35. The

plate has a center aperture surrounding a reduced diameter end sectionof the strut so as to prevent downward movement of the plate 37. Themounting includes a rubber bush 40 surrounding the strut and mountedunder compression between the plate 37 and a substantially horizontalsection 41 of a bracket 42 secured to the underside of the tub 12. Thehorizontal section 41 is apertured in order to permit the strut 35 topass upwardly therethrough. The upper end of the strut 35 carries a nut44, a washer 4S and a hemispherical nylon bush 47, the latter having adownwardly facing convex surface which engages in a concave seat 48forming the periphery of the aperture in the section 41 through whichthe strut 35 passes. A spacer sleeve 49 extends between the plate 37 andthe washer 45 to control the degree of compression of the bush 40. Thisform of connection of the upper end of the leg 32 provides forrestrained universal movement of its upper end with respect to theassembly 11.

At its lower end, the leg 32 has the lower end of the strut 35 passingthrough an aperture in a substantially horizontal section 50 of abracket 51 mounted within the casing 10. The periphery of the apertureprovides a concave seat 65 to receive a downwardly facing partsphericalsurface 66 afforded by a friction damper bush 67 formed in two halves asshown in detail in FIG. 4. The two halves together afford an upwardlyfacing shoulder 69 upon which the lower end of the spring 36 bears.Above the shoulder 69 the two halves of the bush 67 provide a skirt 64extending within the spring 36 for location purposes. Mounted above theskirt 64 and surrounding the strut 35 within the spring 36 is a spacertube 63 which maintains the spring in its longitudinal alignment. Asshown in FIG. 4 each half of the bush 67 has a downwardly extendingsemi-circular sleeve section 70 the two sections 70 togethersubstantially surrounding the lower end of the strut 35 but normallybeing spaced therefrom. The purpose of the two sections 70 is to providefor location of the bush 67 with respect to the concave seat 65 even inthe case of extreme out-of-balance conditions when the strut 35 can moveupwards to a considerable extent and might carry the bush 67 with itaway from the concave seat 65. The two halves of the bush 67 co-operatewith the concave seat effectively to provide the leg 32 with a universaljoint at its lower end, this joint being of an unrestrained nature.During operation of the machine downward movement of the resilientlymounted assembly 11 will cause compression of the spring 36. Suchdownward compression of the spring will force the two halves of thedamper bush 67 into the seat 65 which in turn will cause inward loadingof the halves of the bush against the surface of the strut 35 soincreasing the frictional effect between the halves of the bush and thestrut. Accordingly the amount of friction damping caused by the halvesof the bush will be proportional to the displacement of the assembly 11downwards. The amount of friction damping afforded by each of the legs32 (which are of identical form) also depends on the radius of thesurface 66 and the shape of the concave seat 65. The material used forthe manufacture of the friction damper bush can vary according torequirements but material such as acetal, sintered iron, sinteredbronze, etc., running in grease are found suitable. Even with plasticsmaterials it may be desirable for some lubrication to be providedbetween the bush and the strut. Although the bush has been shown in twohalves in FIG. 4 it is envisaged that it could be formed in a singlepiece provided with merely one longitudinal split. Alternatively itcould be divided into more than two parts; indeed the greater the numberof parts the greater spread of contact pressure there will be on thesurface of the strut 35.

Turning now to the specific form of the unit 30 by which the assembly 11is supported on the left-hand side, the lower end of this unit 30 isconnectedtoa section of the outer casing 10 by a universal jointgenerally indicated at 75. Thus a strut 81 of this unit passes throughan aperture 82 in the section 80, the margin of the aperture 82 forminga concave seat 83 for a downwardly facing hemispherical surface on aplastics bush 85. The material of the bush is relatively hard butprovides a suitable bearing for the universal movement to be obtainedbetween it and the seat 83. The bush 85 has a central hub 87 a lowerpart of which extends through the aperture 82, a concave washer 88surrounding this section and being of such diameter that its periphery89 is located at all times beneath the section 80. The parts are securedin place by a nut 90 and a washer 91 on a lower, threaded, end of thestrut 81.

Turning now to the upper end of the unit 30 shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, thisprovides for substantial restraint against tilting of the strut 81 withrespect to the assembly 11 in a fore and aft plane but provision is madefor very considerable freedom of movement in a lateral plane. This isattained by the form of mounting 100 shown in detail in FIG. 5.

The tub 12 has a bracket 101 to which is secured a generallyfrusto-conical metal housing 102 for the mounting 100. The strut 81extends through the housing 102 with the part of the strut within thehousing being received within a bore 103 of a guide sleeve 104 whichforms an integral part of a guide and pivot member 105 the detailedconfiguration of which is shown in FIG. 5. Thus the member 105 has, atthe lower end of the guide sleeve 104, a pair of bearing portions 106and 107 the axes 108 and 109 respectively of which are substantially inline with one another. The bearing portions 106 and 107 are received indownwardly facing curved seats 110 and 111 respectively. These seats areformed by outwardly directed portions of a pair of overlapping U-shapedmetal stationary guide plates 112 and 113 respectively. The two guideplates are shown in position in FIG. 5 within a substantiallyrectangular space 118 in a frustopyramidical rubber block 119 which isreceived within the housing 102 shown in FIG. 3. The longer side of theblock 119 i.e. that which extends at right angles to the axes 108 and109, extends substantially at right angles to the axis of the washingmachine assembly 11.

The guide sleeve 104 is normally positioned as shown in FIG. 3, i.e.closely within the rectangular space 115 formed within the guide plates112 and 113, with the surfaces 106 and 107 in contact with theirrespective seats 110 and 111 so that limited pivotal movement of thestrut 81, which is guided by the guide sleeve 104, can take place withrespect to the mounting 100 in a plane at right angles to the axis ofthe washing machine assembly 11.

Any fore and aft tilting of the strut 81 however is restrained by theblock of rubber 119 within the housing 102.

This in effect provides the unit 30 with a mounting at its upper endwhich, with respect to the washing machine assembly 11, has considerablefreedom of movement in one plane i.e. transverse to the washing machineaxis, but is subject to considerable restraint against movement in anyother direction. The mounting provides no restraint to upward anddownward excursion of the assembly 11 since the strut 81 can slide quitefreely in the bore 103 of the guide sleeve 104.

porates connections between the three units and the casing at theirlower ends which are each of a universal nature. This type ofconfiguration will of course produce an inherently unstable assembly 11.In order to provide the necessary stability for operational purposes apair of relatively light stabilizing springs 140 are provided as shownin FIG. 2. These extend from a bracket 141secured to the top of theassembly 11 centrally along its fore and aft length. The springsextendone forwards and one rearwards to suitable end connections 142 on theouter casing 10. Bearing in mind that FIG. 2 is viewing the machine fromthe side, this provides restraint against tilting forwards or rearwardsof the assembly since the springs 140 are under tension. Due to thistension however any tendency of the assembly to tilt sideways will causeelongation of each of the springs 140 so that these springs, whilstnormally axially in line with one another immediately above thehorizontal axis of the assembly 11, do also provide for lateralrestraint as well as fore and aft restraint against tilting. The springsare however, of a very light nature, and to all intents and purposesplay no part in supporting the assembly 11 against downward movement,this being performed by the spring leg units 30 and 32.

The springs 140 clearly act in opposite senses when the assembly tendsto tilt in a fore or aft direction. The springs, while providing arestoring force; substantially cancel one another out and therefore thetransmission of vibration to the top of the casing of the washingmachine is very slight.

FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrate the tub 12 of the assembly 11. In FIG. 6 itwill be seen that the outermost periphery of a rear flange 13 of the tubis indicated by the circular line 14. The spacing required between theassembly 11 and the outer casing 10 of the washing machine will bedetermined by the lateral excursion of the flange 13. It is to be notedthat a single inertia weight 121 formed of concrete is secured to theunderside of the assembly 11 on its front end. This inertia weight is sodesigned, as with convential inertia weights, to provide added weight tothe sprung mass to absorb energy. By virtue of the novel supportingsystem, it is found possible to utilize the configuration of the weight121 shown which lies entirely within the downward plan projection of theoutermost parts of the sides of the assembly 11. Thus the two dottedvertical planes indicate that the weight 121 is between these planes.Therefore there is no fear of the weight contacting the outer casing ofthe machine during lateral excursion of the assembly. This is incontrast to many prior constructions where the inertia weight or weightsextend to a substantial extent laterally of the plan projection of thesprung mass so that thespaee provided between the sprung mass and theouter casing has to take into account the positions and sizes of suchweight or weights which is not the case with the present design. Thuslateral weights are completely avoided. It is also significant with thisform of suspension of the washing machine that no inertia weights arerequired on the top of the machine nor on the front of the assembly.Moreover the center of gravity of the weight 121, indicated by the point122 lies below the lowermost point of the container 12. These featuresin dividually and collectively have enabled the overall dimensions ofthe outer casing to be considerably reduced in size since the casing canbe brought much closer to the washing machine assembly 11 thanheretofore.

FIGS. 8 to 10 illustrate an alternative embodiment in which an assembly200, similar in many respects to that of FIGS. 1 to 7, is againsupported by three spring leg units. As with the first embodiment, onthe left in FIG. 8, the assembly 200 is supported by a single spring legunit 201 which provides no damping but, on the righthand side a pair ofspring damper legs 202 are incorporated.

The legs 202 are substantially the same as the units 32 of the firstembodiment except that they are inverted. Thus the legs each incorporatea strut 203 mounted in a resilient manner at its lower end by a pair ofrubber bushes 204 each under compression between upper and lower supportplates 205 and 206 respectively, the requisite amount of compressionbeing provided in the bushes 204 by clamping up a nut at the lower endof the strut 203. The strut 203 is surrounded by a spacer sleeve 209 anda compression spring 210, the lower end of which bears on the plate 205.The upper end of the spring 210 bears on a shoulder 212 of a splitfriction damper bush 213 substantially identical to the bush 67 in FIG.3. Thus the bush 213 is formed in two longitudinally separated halvesthrough which the upper end of the strut 203 extends. In this casehowever, the two halves of the bush 213 afford an upwardly facingpart-spherical surface co-operating with a cap 217 having an aperture216. The cap is formed by pressing to provide a part-spherical seat forengagement with the upper surface of the bush 213 and thereby forming auniversal joint. The cap is located in position within an aperture 221in a horizontal section 222 of a bracket 218 secured to the assembly200.

As with the first embodiment the halves of the damper bush 213 togetherform a sleeve 220 surrounding the end of the strut 203. In this way thestrut is provided with means to ensure that it will remain located withrespect to the bracket 218 even in the case of extreme out-of-balanceconditions.

FIGS. 9 and 10 illustrate such out-of-balance conditions when a veryhigh out-of-balance load is included in the rotary drum of the assemblyand it is run up through the critical speed. It is to be understood thatthis very high out-of-balance load is one which would amount to a faultcondition or be due to misuse of the machine, but nevertheless it isfound that with this design, the machine can cater for such highout-ofbalance conditions. As shown in FIG. 9 the bracket 218 can in factbecome completely separated from the upper end of the leg 202 but if theassembly 200 rises away from the spring 210 it will leave the cap 217and the bush 213 still located on the end of the spring 210. Even inthis extreme condition however the sleeve 220 does not leave theaperture 221 in the bracket 218. Thus when the assembly 200 falls again,even after lateral displacement with respect to the top end of thespring as shown in FIG. 10, there will still be locational relationshipbetween the assembly 200 and the leg 202 so that, as the assembly 200falls again it will naturally settle satisfactorily on the cap 217 andresume its normal operational function. In this way the sleeve 220ensures that with extreme out-of-balance loads, where the assembly canrise away from the spring damper leg, there is no fear of the assemblybecoming completely separated from the spring damper leg and fallingaway from it during operation.

The detailed construction of the spring leg 201 of FIG. 8 will now bedescribed. Like the unit 202 on the right-hand side it incorporates astrut 230 connected ky a pair of rubber bushes 231 to a bracket 232 atits lower end. Surrounding the strut 230 is a spacer sleeve 233 and aspring 234 the upper end of which abuts an abutment plate 236 bearingagainst the underside of a flange 238 formed on the lower end of asleeve 239 closely surrounding the upper end of the strut 230. Thesleeve 239 is received within a circular bore extending through a rubberblock 245 which nests within a socket 246 secured to a bracket 247 onthe underside of the resiliently mounted assembly 200. As shown in FIG.8 the block 245 is of generally frusto-pyramidical form. Like the block119 in the embodiment of FIG. 5 the block 245 is relatively thin whenconsidered the fore and aft direction of the axis but relatively widewhen considered from side-to-side. In contrast to the arrangement ofFIG. 5 however, there is no free articulation, but the block 245 withinthe socket 246 causes the assembly 200 on this die to have a highrestraint against fore and aft pivotal movement but a relatively lowsideward restraint. This sideward freedom of movement is enhanced by theprovision of wedge-shaped hollow relief spaces 255 within the lower endof the block 245. This joint at the upper end of the spring leg 201provides little or no resistance to upward or downward movement of theassembly 200 on this side due to the sliding of the upper end of thestrut 230 within the sleeve 239 which is formed of a suitable lowfriction material. On the other hand the assembly on this side isprovided with a high fore and aft restraint but a low sidewardrestraint. The ratio of these restraints may for example be between 1021and i521. I

A third embodiment is illustrated in FIG. 11. In this case a resilientlymounted assembly 300 is provided within an outer casing 301 simply bytwo spring legs 302 and 303. The spring leg 302 is identical to the leg30 of the first embodiment whilst the spring leg 303 is a damper legidentical to the Unit 32 of the first embodiment. As with the firstembodiment therefore, these two legs provide a construction which hasuniversal joints on each of the lower ends of the two legs so thatsprings 340 are again provided as in the first embodiment in order tomaintain the assembly in a stable equilibrium condition. The preciseposition of the legs 302 and 303 with respect to the fore and aft axesof the machine can vary according to requirements but, in the specificembodiment shown, the spring leg 302 is situated slightly to the rear ofthe spring damper leg 303 when viewed from the side in FIG. 1 1.

Whilst the two-legged configuration of FIG. 11 provides one springdamper leg unit on one side and a nondamped leg unit on the other side,an alternative arrangement would be to support the assembly by twoidentical spring damper leg units of the type shown on the right-handside in either of FIGS. 3 or 8.

With any of the configurations describedthe angle which the various legssubtend to the vertical can vary according to requirements. Onepossibility, for example with a two-legged construction, would be forone leg to be vertical and the other inclined to the vertical.

It is to be noted that the configuration of the various spring strut orspring damper leg units illustrated in the three embodiments of thedrawings each incorporate a strut which at one end passes freely througha guide member there being no attachment to the strut end beyond theguide member. This enables the end of the guide member to be insertedinto the appropriate aperture during machine construction in a verysimple manner. It also permits simple disconnection of the assembly bybodily lifting it off the appropriate connections when required withoutdisconnection of'any nuts and bolts, etc.

[n the first embodiment the two spring damper leg units 32 are eachaccurately located with respect to the assembly 11 by virtue of theresilient bushes 40 at the upper ends of the struts 35. The frictiondamper bushes 67 can be retained in position on the struts duringmachine construction for example by the use of a small rubber band tohold the two halves of the bush in light frictional engagement with thestrut. These two struts can therefore be accurately located with respectto their concave seats 65. In a similar way the strut 81 on theleft-hand side with its guide sleeve 104 prior to placing the assemblyin position can be held in its required spacial position since the formof the joint 75 of the strut 81 at its lower end, although of auniversal nature, does permit the strut to be free-standing.

With the second embodiment where the spring damper units are connectedby rubber bushes 204 at their lower ends these are again capable ofproviding the upper ends of the struts with correct spacial alignment toreceive the apertures afforded by the assembly as this is lowered intoposition. The spring strut 201 on the left-hand side is similarly heldin its correct location prior to dropping the assembly into position andtherefore the assembly can be merely lowered on to the upper ends of thethree struts in this embodiment and can be readily removed withoutdisconnection of any parts of the damper units or the spring strutunits.

With the third embodiment of FIG. 11 the same considerations apply ashave been discussed in connection with the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 7.

The provision of the rubber bushes as a form of connection at one end ofthe struts both of the friction damper units and the spring strut unitsenables the use of a light-weight casing and wheels on the washingmachine as a whole. It is envisaged however that in certainconfigurations the struts could be secured rigidly at their upper endsto the assembly in the first embodiment or at their lower ends in thesecond embodiment, the struts then flexing along their lengths duringoperation.

Furthermore, whilst substantially semi-spherical friction damper busheshave been shown with a longitudinal bore therethrough it is envisagedthat in some circumstances a substantially spherical external surfacecould be provided in which case the spring of the damper unit could acton a part spherical seat on one end of the bush and the fixed sphericalseat on the appropriate section of the assembly or frame would act onthe other end of the bush. This again would increase the frictionaleffect and spread the friction effect over the length of the bush morethen in the case of the semi-spherical arrangements previouslydescribed.

Whereas the embodiments described above in relation to the drawingsutilize the split bushes for friction damping purposes in each case, itis envisaged that the very simple configuration of the bushes with theirassociated form of mounting could be used effectively insomeenvironments where no dampingis required. In such cases the busheswould have no longitudinal split so that the associated rod can merelyslide in the bore of the bush. This would accordingly provide analternative form of spring-strut unit without damping but having a highdegree of freedom of movement of the-seat relatively'to thepart-spherical surface of the bush.

SuchJunits could be employed in association with a form of spring-strutwhich would afford the desired degree of restraint. Thus a pair of themodified units could be used on one side. Alternatively only one unitmight be used, either alone on one side, or in association with one unitwhich does act as a spring damper on that side.

What we claim as our invention and desire to secure by Letters Patentis: i

l. A centrifugal extraction machine comprising a resiliently mountedassembly including a container for liquid and a clothes drum mountedwithin said container for rotation about a substantially horizontalaxis, upper connection sections associated with said resiliently'mountedassembly, a base frame, low'er connection sections associated with saidbase frame, and support means extending betweensaid upper and lowersections so as to support said resiliently mounted assembly from below,said support means comprising a. a plurality of springs, each generallyextending between said base and said resiliently mounted assembly,

b. a damper unit associated with at least one of said springs, saiddamper unit comprising a strut which extends between one lower and oneupper section, a first end connection for said strut associated with oneof said sections being of non-rigid nature so as to permit tilting ofsaid strut with respect to its said one section, a second end connectionassociated with the other of said sections comprising a split annulardamping member surrounding a portion of said strut and having apart-spherical surface engaging a part-spherical seat associated withsaid other section so as to permit substantially unrestrained tilting ofsaid strut with respect to said other section, and said associatedspring of said damper unit surrounding said strut and generally betweensaid upper and lower sections.

2. A machine as claimed in claim 1 wherein said first end connectioncomprises a mounting having at least one block of resilient materialwhich permits restrained tilting of said strut with respect to said onesection.

3. A machine as claimed in claim 1 wherein said second end connection isassociated with said lower section.

4. A machine as claimed in claim 1 wherein said second end connection isassociated with said upper section.

5. A machine as claimed in claim 2 wherein said block of resilientmaterial is compressed between a plate and said one section, said plateproviding a seat for said associated spring of said damper unit.

6. A machine as claimed in claim 1 wherein the lengths of saidassociated spring and said strut are such that said damping member isdisposed on said strut in such a position that said strut remains withina bore of said damping member when said associated spring is extended toits unloaded free length.

7. A machine as claimed in claim 1 wherein said damping member has asleeve portion associated therewith which extends away from saidpart-spherical surface of said damping member to provide location forsaid damping member with respect to said other section in the event ofsaid part-spherical surface of said damping member moving away from saidother section.

8. A machine as claimed in claim 1 wherein said other section has anaperture through which said strut passes and said part-spherical seat isformed by an integral margin of the aperture.

9. A machine as claimed in claim 1 in which said other section has anaperture through which said strut passes and said part-spherical seat isformed by an annular member separable from said aperture.

10. A machine as claimed in claim 1 wherein said damping member has atleast two longitudinal splits to divide it into at least two portions.

11. A machine as claimed in claim 1 wherein said resiliently mountedassembly is supported by three springs, two of said springs having adamper unit associated therewith and extending between said base frameand said assembly below and to one side of the horizontal axis of saidassembly, and a third spring extending between a lower end connection onsaid base frame and an upper end connection on said assembly below andto the other side of the horizontal axis, said end connections of saidthird spring providing negligible damping.

12. A machine as claimed in claim 1 in which said assembly is supportedby two springs each extending between said base frame and said assembly,one of said springs on each side of the horizontal axis of saidassembly, one of said springs having a damper unit associated therewithand the other of said springs having no damper unit associatedtherewith.

13. A machine as claimed in claim 1 in which said assembly is supportedby two springs, each of said springs having a damper unit associatedtherewith, said springs extending between said base frame and saidassembly with one spring on each side of the horizontal axis of 12. saidassembly.

14. A centrifugal extraction machine comprising a resiliently mountedassembly including a container for liquid and a clothes drum mountedwithin said container for rotation about a substantially horizontalaxis,

upper connection sections associated with said.

resiliently mounted assembly, a base frame, lower connection sectionsassociated with said base frame, and support means extending betweensaid upper and lower sections so as to support said resiliently mountedassembly from below, said support means comprising a. a plurality ofsprings, each generally extending between said base and said resilientlymounted assembly,

b. a strut unit associated with at least one of said springs, said strutunit comprising a strut which extends between one lower and one uppersection, a first end connection associated with one of said sectionscomprising a sleeve surrounding said strut, seat means for said sleeveassociated with said one section, said seat means permittin freemovement of said sleeve relative to san seat means in a first plane andrestraining movement of said sleeve relative to said seat means in asecond plane perpendicular to said first plane, a second end connectionfor said strut associated with the other of said sections, and saidassociated spring of said strut unit surrounding said strut and biasingv16. The machine as claimed in claim 14 wherein said seat means has arectangular opening formed of two identical channel members, the majoraxis of said rectangle being in said first plane, and the minor axis ofsaid rectangle being in said second plane.

17. The machine as claimed in claim 16 wherein said seat means isreceived within a resilient block.

1. A centrifugal extraction machine comprising a resiliently mountedassembly including a container for liquid and a clothes drum mountedwithin said container for rotation about a substantially horizontalaxis, upper connection sections associated with said resiliently mountedassembly, a base frame, lower connection sections associated with saidbase frame, and support means extending between said upper and lowersections so as to support said resiliently mounted assembly from below,said support means comprising a. a plurality of springs, each generallyextending between said base and said resiliently mounted assembly, b. adamper unit associated with at least one of said springs, said damperunit comprising a strut which extends between one lower and one uppersection, a first end connection for said strut associated with one ofsaid sections being of non-rigid nature so as to permit tilting of saidstrut with respect to its said one section, a second end connectionassociated with the other of said sections comprising a split annulardamping member surrounding a portion of said strut and having apartspherical surface engaging a part-spherical seat associated withsaid other section so as to permit substantially unrestrained tilting ofsaid strut with respect to said other section, and said associatedspring of said damper unit surrounding said strut and generally betweensaid upper and lower sections.
 1. A centrifugal extraction machinecomprising a resiliently mounted assembly including a container forliquid and a clothes drum mounted within said container for rotationabout a substantially horizontal axis, upper connection sectionsassociated with said resiliently mounted assembly, a base frame, lowerconnection sections associated with said base frame, and support meansextending between said upper and lower sections so as to support saidresiliently mounted assembly from below, said support means comprisinga. a plurality of springs, each generally extending between said baseand said resiliently mounted assembly, b. a damper unit associated withat least one of said springs, said damper unit comprising a strut whichextends between one lower and one upper section, a first end connectionfor said strut associated with one of said sections being of non-rigidnature so as to permit tilting of said strut with respect to its saidone section, a second end connection associated with the other of saidsections comprising a split annular damping member surrounding a portionof said strut and having a part-spherical surface engaging apart-spherical seat associated with said other section so as to permitsubstantially unrestrained tilting of said strut with respect to saidother section, and said associated spring of said damper unitsurrounding said strut and generally between said upper and lowersections.
 2. A machine as claimed in claim 1 wherein said first endconnection comprises a mounting having at least one block of resilientmaterial which permits restrained tilting of said strut with respect tosaid one section.
 3. A machine as claimed in claim 1 wherein said secondend connection is associated with said lower section.
 4. A machine asclaimed in claim 1 wherein said second end connection is associated withsaid upper section.
 5. A machine as claimed in claim 2 wherein saidblock of resilient material is compressed between a plate and said onesection, said plate providing a seat for said associated spring of saiddamper unit.
 6. A machine as claimed in claim 1 wherein the lengths ofsaid associated spring and said strut are such that said damping memberis disposed on said strut in such a position that said strut remainswithin a bore of said damping member when said associated spring isextended to its unloaded free length.
 7. A machine as claimed in claim 1wherein said damping member has a sleeve portion associated therewithwhich extends away from said part-spherical surface of said dampingmember to provide location for said damping member with respect to saidother section in the event of said part-spherical surface of saiddamping member moving away from said other section.
 8. A machine asclaimed in claim 1 wherein said other section has an aperture throughwhich said strut passes and said part-spherical seat is formed by anintegral margin of the aperture.
 9. A machine as claimed in claim 1 inwhich said other section has an aperture through which said strut passesand said part-spherical seat is formed by an annular member separablefrom said aperture.
 10. A machine as claimed in claim 1 wherein saiddamping member has at least two longitudinal splits to divide it into atleast two portions.
 11. A machine as claimed in claim 1 wherein saidresiliently mounted assembly is supported by three springs, two of saidsprings having a damper unit associated therewith and extending betweensaid base frame and said assembly below and to one side of thehorizontal axis of said assembly, and a third spring extending between alower end connection on said base frame and an upper end connection onsaid assembly below and to the other side of the horizontal axis, saidend connections of said third spring providing negligible damping.
 12. Amachine as claimed in claim 1 in which said assembly is supported by twosprings each extending between said base frame and said assembly, one ofsaid springs on each side of the horizontal axis of said assembly, oneof said springs having a damper unit associated therewith and the otherof said springs having no damper unit associated therewith.
 13. Amachine as claimed in claim 1 in which said assembly is supported by twosprings, each of said springs having a damper unit associated therewith,said springs extending between said base frame and said assembly withone spring on each side of the horizontal axis of said assembly.
 14. Acentrifugal extraction machine comprising a resiliently mounted assemblyincluding a container for liquid and a clothes drum mounted within saidcontainer for rotation about a substantially horizontal axis, upperconnection sections associated with said resiliently mounted assembly, abase frame, lower connection sections associated with said base frame,and support means extending between said upper and lower sections so asto support said resiliently mounted assembly from below, said supportmeans comprising a. a plurality of springs, each generally extendingbetween said base and said resiliently mounted assembly, b. a strut unitassociated with at least one of said springs, said strut unit comprisinga strut which extends between one lower and one upper section, a firstend connection associated with one of said sections comprising a sleevesurrounding said strut, seat means for said sleeve associated with saidone section, said seat means permitting free movement of said sleeverelative to said seat means in a first plane and restraining movement ofsaid sleeve relative to said seat means in a second plane perpendicularto said first plane, a second end connection for said strut associatedwith the other of said sections, and said associated spring of saidstrut unit surrounding said strut and biasing said sleeve into contactwith said seat.
 15. A machine as claimed in claim 14 wherein said seatmeans has at least one downwardly facing curved seat having an axisperpendicular to said first plane, said sleeve means having at least onepivot member having an axis perpendicular to said strut surrounded bysaid sleeve means, wherein said downwardly facing curved seat of saidmeans receives said pivot of said sleeve.
 16. The machine as claimed inclaim 14 wherein said seat means has a rectangular opening formed of twoidentical channel members, the major axis of said rectangle being insaid first plane, and the minor axis of said rectangle being in saidsecond plane.